EUROPE could be gearing up to forge a bubble of nuclear protection from Russia made up of 300 French ballistic missiles.
French president Macron has suggested the submarine-launched warheads are fanned across the continent to shore up collective defence.
His offer followed a German minister urging the UK and France to forge a "nuclear shield" to deter Russia.
Leaders in Europe are worried about the ramifications of a possible Donald Trump win in the November presidential election.
And nuclear threats are coming out of Russia thick and fast as Putin's illegal war in Ukraine drags on.
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Macron said he wanted to open up conversations about "missile defence, long-range weapons and nuclear weapons" across Europe.
The French premier, who has been incredibly vocal about stepping up defence in the face of Putin, said we need a "credible European defence".
The current US-led Nato alliance, he believes, does not offer enough protection.
France, he says, "is ready to contribute more to the defence of European soil," independently from America, offering up the 300-ballistic and cruise missile store.
Trump warned just days ago that he will let Russia do "whatever the hell it wants" to Nato members who don't step up in giving 2 per cent of their GDP to defence.
German minister Lindner dubbed this: "a call to further rethink this element of European security under the umbrella of NATO".
The UK and France are Europe's primary nuclear powers and have independent control over their own significant weapons arsenals.
But Russia's nuclear stores dwarf their collective power, with the world's most extensive and varied collection by a considerable amount.
Even the US has fewer nukes.
FRESH NUKE THREAT
Just this weekend, one of Putin's state TV propaganda puppets issued a fresh nuclear threat against the West.
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Dmitry Kiselyov warned: "If NATO countries deploy their forces to Ukraine in order to deal strategic defeat to Russia, then that very moment will come of which Putin has spoken.
"In that case, we'll send everything flying everywhere! Sarmat, Yars and Avangard missiles.
"American decision-making centres and launch sites on land and sea are already in our crosshairs.
"France, as a nuclear power, will have to be disarmed in an instant.
"The British isles will simply go underwater. We have the technologies for this."
By referring to "American decision-making centres and launch sites", Kiselyov was referencing bases across Europe in allied countries.
Just days ago Moscow warned that Nato's nuclear weapons and facilities would be targeted if they are deployed in Poland.
A EUROPEAN DEFENCE FRAMEWORK
Macron is suggesting France's nuclear arsenal of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and air-launched cruise missiles are shared around the continent.
He urged: "French doctrine is that we can use [nuclear arms] when our vital interests are at stake … There is a European dimension in these vital interests.
"I am in favour of opening this debate, which must therefore include missile defence, long-range weapons and nuclear weapons for those who have them or who have American nuclear weapons on their soil.
"France will keep its specificity, but it is ready to contribute more to the defence of European soil."
And last week he doubled down on a specifically European network of defence: "The European pillar of Nato that we are building is essential. But we should build a European defence framework.
"We have to … build a Europe able to show that it is never a vassal of the US."
FRENCH BALLISTIC MISSILES
The French navy developed an impressive £4.2 billion submarine-launched ballistic missile, the M51 SLBM, likely the weapon Macron is referring to.
Each missile can carry six to ten thermonuclear warheads.
Like the formidable Trident, it uses a drag-reducing spike to shoot through the air.
They stretch 12 metres in length and are fuelled by an impressive three stage rocket.
Their estimated range is between 8,000 and 10,000 km.
Macron's reference to other countries with US nuclear weapons on their soil was likely directed at Germany, home to American warheads.
Britain is also home to US nuclear tech, but is no longer part of the European Union (EU).
France, which has its own nuclear strike force, is the EU's only nuclear power - i.e. possesses nuclear weapons not just reactors.
COLLECTIVE SECURITY
Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has warned that such a nuclear umbrella could divide Europe from North America.
In February he said: "Nato has a nuclear deterrent, and this has worked for decades.
"We should not do anything to undermine that."
But as warnings continue to surface of war in Europe, leaders are worried about deterrence.
Germany's Lindner, for example, also pointed to "collective security".
He said: "The strategic nuclear forces of France and Great Britain are already making a contribution to the security of our alliance.
"The question is: under what political and financial conditions would Paris and London be prepared to maintain or expand their own strategic capabilities for collective security?"
